Things hoped for

I never claimed to understand God's plan - just to follow it. But there are times when I feel like I'm just doing things and claiming that God has sanctioned it because HE hasn't said no. Day to day things or, sometimes, even life altering decisions can FEEL right, but are they God's design? Sometimes, I just have to have faith that God will let me roam forward and rein me back in whenever I get too far afield.

It's really felt that way when it comes to making films. I can't deny that I've always loved films and always assumed that I would be a film maker someday. But life intervenes, and to be fair, the few times that I've tried to become a film maker, things have not gone well and I've never really bonded with the process. But this time has been different.

I started back into the film world because I was asked by my youth group members to help them make a film. I did, but was so disappointed with the outcome that a crazy idea came to me - go back to film school. I did... without any idea where this would lead me. When I realized that it was time to make my first film, I became enamored with the idea of shooting the film at my church. Something told me that this was the way to go and that the church would be open to the idea. They were and I shot the film there. I thought that would be the end of the story - that my church shooting time was over and I was glad to move on to more professional film shoots that had nothing to do with my church.

Out of the clear blue, I got a request from one of the film makers who helped me with the film if they could use my church for a film (a film, not too ironically, about redemption and faith). In the back of my mind, in my wildest dreams, I had imagined that I might someday plant a seed for someone to remember my church. It hasn't been two months since I stopped filming and already those seeds are growing.

A month ago my sound class was assigned a documentary film to shoot. When I met with my group to discuss possible subjects the first idea floated was to interview a crack addict that lived near one of the guys jobs (he's a bouncer at a downtown club). I started to wonder what I was getting myself into. Fortunately, someone else suggested doing a documentary about a group of people who train formerly homeless people to install solar panels. This group was going to have an installation training in Richmond and we all agreed that this sounded like a good idea. But, the training was canceled and our documentary was without a subject. I then remembered that my church was giving a concert in honor of the International Year of the Organ and because it was the fifth anniversary of our new pipe organ. It being a sound class, I thought this might be a good subject for the documentary. So with a little trepidation, I mentioned the idea to my group, and they all liked it.

I bring this up because this weekend we shot the film. Not only did the filming go smoothly but, to my great surprise, my organist suddenly discovered two new fans. They loved the organ. They loved to hear about how it was built and how it made sound. They promised to go to the concert. Then we spent two hours going around my church sanctuary in a love fest of beautiful film making to match the beautiful organ music we'd recorded. I can't wait to see the final documentary because my church might not ever look that good again.

The lesson I learned this week is that God is the ultimate producer. He maneuvered all the pieces around this weekend in a way that not only accomplished the task of making a great film, but also of glorifying His name and His church. We are amateurs when it comes to planning things out and getting pieces in place and then hoping that things turn out the way we planned. With God, completion is a guarantee and the results are never in doubt. He maneuvers things years in advance before any of us even suspect that we are being maneuvered; so that in all things, whether it be crossing the street or saving the Earth, His plan is the one that is accomplished. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, but I think its also the only chance we can ever get to seeing some of God's plan in action. To see, you must first believe.